Briar Rose
by Cheile
Summary: Melissa Corinthos discovers that her less than perfect home life is due to a long kept secret. Work in progress! please R&R! chapter 3 coming soon!
1. Deja Vu?

Author notes aka legal B.S.: the ABC soaps and their characters are not mine. Never have been, never will be. So don't sue me. -.- Characters that ARE mine: Melissa Corinthos, Aaron Kovich, Seralyn and Ember Ashton, Jaedyn, Julian and Iliana Jacks, Ian Quartermaine, Lourdes Taggert, Kaela Smith, Rowenna Morley, and Marik MacDonald.  
  
Nitpicker's notes: Some changes in this story will be obvious....but I'm pointing them out here just in case. -- I named Melissa long before Alexis gave birth in canon, hence the name difference. -- Kristina is alive and well. -- Brenda is dead for good....therefore she was never able to wreck anyone's relationships. -- Borg Boy (Jason) is also dead and gone....and Courtney never went near him....A.J., for the purpose of this fic, was redeemed in her eyes. -- yes the name Marik was borrowed from Yu-Gi-Oh....in dedication to Rowenna's namesake. *blows kisses at Twi*  
  
Beta thank yous: Nikki-sis, thank you for all the PC info/help! And also thanks to my beta readers: Jan, Hoppy, Faerie, Mere and whoever else I get to beta for me at a moment's notice! Love to all!  
  
Briar Rose by Rowan (JaxDreamer@yahoo.com)  
  
**  
  
Prologue  
  
My name is Melissa Corinthos....and I'm fifteen--almost sixteen. Most of my friends envy me. They say I have everything. Sometimes I'm not so sure.  
  
Sure, my father's "business" dealings make him a lot of money....and therefore makes me, in a way, wealthy. But money isn't everything. Neither is having a two-parent household....especially when said parents often fight.  
  
It's even worse when you have the gut feeling your own mother dislikes you.  
  
I don't know why she hates me, but sometimes I see that look in her eyes-- as if I've committed some cardinal sin. Daddy always has told me she has emotional problems--and Grandma Bobbie has said similar things. Maybe they're right--who knows? But I'm certainly not the cause of them.  
  
Daddy, on the other hand, has always treated me well. Mother mockingly calls me his little princess--but sometimes she has a point. He /does/ spoil me--and I'll be first to admit it....  
  
Re-reading what I'd written, I sighed, saved the file and closed it, making sure to lock it with the password before logging off and shutting my laptop down. Kaela Smith, my best friend of sorts, had talked me into starting a journal file. So far, I'd written little. I was too used to keeping everything in my head--inside me.  
  
"MELISSA!!!"  
  
I sighed. "Coming!" I couldn't imagine what Mother wanted /this/ time....  
  
Chapter 1 Déjà vu?  
  
I hurriedly descended the stairs. "Yes, Mother?"  
  
She glared at me and gestured to the doorway, where a familiar figure stood.  
  
"Aunt Krissy!" I hurried to her. She smiled and hugged me tight when I reached her. I could feel Mother glaring at me but ignored her.  
  
"Carly, stop glaring like that before your face freezes," Kristina said coolly but politely.  
  
Mother snorted in disgust and turned away.  
  
"That one needs a serious Feng Shui session," I heard my aunt mutter before she turned to me. "Are you ready? Sera and Ember are bouncing off the walls waiting for you."  
  
"Let me get my laptop and backpack--I have some homework I can finish while they're in bed."  
  
She nodded and I hurried back up the stairs to gather them. Mother stopped me at the doorway to my room. "Remember what I always tell you. Do /not/ listen to a thing that woman tells you. Your father may let you call her 'aunt', but Kristina is nothing more than a bubbleheaded gossip."  
  
"She has never lied to me about anything," I said angrily, annoyed by her arrogant assumptions.  
  
"Melissa, there is a first time for everything. I know you're young and naive, but believe me, I know what I speak of."  
  
"Yes, Mother," I sighed. I gave up and let her continue for a moment, tuning her out until she told me to hurry along.  
  
*Thank God.* I dashed into my room, scooped up laptop and backpack, then headed out, closing my door behind me. I clattered down the stairs and met Aunt Krissy at the door. "I'm ready--let's go."  
  
"Good--Ned will have worn a hole in the floor by now." Kristina's gentle laughter trailed behind the pair as she closed the penthouse door and led the way to the elevator.  
  
**  
  
The ride across town to Jefferson Court was a quiet one. I listened to Aunt Krissy sing along quietly with a Josh Groban CD. It was one I'd bought her for Christmas the past year. She once told me it reminded her of a lost sibling, but never specified anything more. I had wondered from that day on if she would ever tell me more....  
  
I was broken out of my reverie when I heard the car engine turn off. Uncle Ned opened the door for us both when we reached the front porch.  
  
"Kristina, you're--"  
  
I watched her lay a fingertip over his lips. "Hush, Ned. We have a half hour before we're due to be at Alan and Rae's party."  
  
He shook his head and turned to me. "How are you, Melissa?"  
  
"I'm good, Uncle Ned." I accepted his hug and returned it. "How are you?"  
  
"MELS!"  
  
The two-voice chorus made me smile. Seralyn and Ember had inherited Aunt Krissy's red hair--and loud voice when excited. They danced a circle around me impatiently while I made my way into the den to set down my laptop and backpack, then smothered me in a death grip. I smiled and hugged them both.  
  
"Let's get out of here while they're occupied with Melissa," Ned joked.  
  
"DAD-dy!" Ember complained, clearly insulted. Seralyn and I smothered laughter behind our hands.  
  
"I'm kidding, Fireball." He rumpled her hair. "But we DO have to get going." He raised his brows at his wife.  
  
"Just let me get my jewelry...." Kristina's voice drifted from down the hall as she hurried to her and Ned's bedroom. She returned within moments, and I released Ember so she and Seralyn could give their parents goodbye hugs and kisses before they headed out the door.  
  
**  
  
Two hours later, the girls were in bed. I was busily typing at my laptop, adding footnotes to an essay due in three days when a strange feeling hit me. For a brief moment it was as if I'd been elsewhere. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. 10:55. It wasn't that late. Then what had snapped me out of my work? I turned off the Tangerine Dream CD of Aunt Krissy's that I had had running at low volume and went back to my essay.  
  
But not five minutes later, after I'd finished and switched to the journal file to make a second entry, it came over me again. All was quiet, but I decided to check on the girls anyway. Ember was crunched into a ball underneath her Strawberry Shortcake blankets. Seralyn was also sound asleep but stretched out and with the sheet half over her face.  
  
With knowing that both of them were undisturbed, I gave into the odd impulse to wander the rest of the house. Eventually I ended up in the family room, carefully turning pages of old photo albums. First Ember's baby album, then Sera's. I was about to skip the wedding album, having looked at it so many times, but then I took it from its display spot on the shelf and opened it, turning to the back where the photos were. Most I had memorized and knew nearly everyone in them. Some people were unfamiliar-- such as Uncle Ned's grandmother Lila, who had died when I was five. I continued going through the pictures and was almost to the last page when I paused. Turning back, I gazed at a photo that I must have looked at fifty times in the past--and yet had not. Aunt Krissy hugging a brown haired woman, with Uncle Ned and my aunt Courtney in the background. The other woman's face was only partially visible, but for some odd reason, she seemed familiar. Yet I'd never seen her before in my life.  
  
Shrugging off the feeling, I put the photo albums away and returned to the den. Even after Uncle Ned and Aunt Krissy returned, took me home and I went to bed, the image still lingered in my mind.  
  
Who was she--and why did she seem so familiar?  
  
TBC.... 


	2. Shadow

Chapter 2 Shadow  
  
"Can't stop what's coming, can't stop what is on its way...." (1)  
  
All through the next morning, the image continued to bug me. It stayed with me as I went through my morning routine and went down to breakfast.  
  
"Melissa??"  
  
I blinked and looked up at Mother. "Sorry?"  
  
Exasperation crossed her face. "What's the matter with you? You haven't said a word." It faded to slight concern. "Are you not feeling well?"  
  
"No, I'm fine--honest."  
  
She nodded. "Good."  
  
"Honest what?" Daddy asked as he came down the stairs.  
  
"I was talking to Melissa, Sonny."  
  
He nodded, kissed her in greeting, then looked down at me. "You look a little pale, Melissa. You okay?"  
  
I repeated that I was fine. He nodded his approval. "'Cause remember--we have our scheduled walk to the docks and the park and back....can't miss out on that." He pretended to sound pouty, but it was ruined by the hint of mischief in his eyes and smile.  
  
"I know." I couldn't hold back my own smile.  
  
I saw Mother shake her head but I couldn't read her expression. I glanced at the clock and got up. "I'd better get going."  
  
"Johnny said he'd accompany you on the ride to school," Mother put in as I put away the breakfast dishes I'd used. I nodded without thinking. I'd long since grown used to being escorted until I was dropped off at school.  
  
I paused only long enough to hug and kiss Daddy good-bye, then gather my things and I was out the door.  
  
**  
  
As always, Kaela was the first to greet me as soon as I had been dropped off by the limo. "C'mon, you don't want to be late," she said, impatiently shaking her bangs out of her face as we hurried to our first class.  
  
The morning passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was lunchtime. My English class was furthest from the lawn where most of the students took their lunches so by the time I got my lunch, everyone was awaiting me, beneath our favorite tree.  
  
Lourdes Taggert was the daughter of the chief of PCPD. Ours was a cautious friendship--due to the fact that Chief Taggert and Daddy had a long standing animosity going. Ian Quartermaine was my cousin, and a year behind the rest of us. He favored Aunt Courtney in looks and coloring, except for the distinctive cheekbones and jawline, inherited from the Quartermaine genes. Aaron Kovich was my boyfriend. Tall, blond and blue- eyed, he had half the girls in our class wishing I didn't exist. And that left Kaela....who could pass for my sister, except for the differences in our facial features. Everyone insisted I looked like Daddy, while Kaela had inherited her looks from her mother, Elizabeth.  
  
I joined in the conversations for the most part, but my mind was still far away, focused on that strange picture.  
  
"Mels girl, wake up." Lourdes shook my shoulder none too gently.  
  
"Huh?" I realized I'd been staring down at my egg salad for the past five minutes. I looked up and saw the blatant concern in everyone's eyes. "I'm fine--seriously."  
  
"You sure?" Aaron asked. His fingers touched my cheek lightly. When I insisted I was fine, he nodded and settled back.  
  
"Want to talk about it?" Kaela's dark eyes were still fixed on my face.  
  
I shrugged. "Not much to tell really. I was babysitting last night for Sera and Ember, and after I finished, I decided to browse through the photo albums." I paused to take a few bites of my lunch before continuing. "And I found this picture in Aunt Krissy's wedding album...." I described the setting and the strange woman to them, then finished with, "And for the life of me, I can't understand why she looks familiar. I know I don't know who she is."  
  
Fixated on her salad, Lourdes belatedly looked up again. "Are you sure it's not one of those deja vu things or something?"  
  
"It could be." I hadn't considered that possibility. "But that still brings me back to where do I know this woman from? Or where did I know her- -if we only met in passing?"  
  
"Maybe she's a distant cousin or something. Who knows with our families? Why is it bothering you so much anyway?" Ian finally spoke up.  
  
I shrugged again. "Don't you ever get one of those nagging thoughts that won't shut up until you solve the mystery behind them? This is one of them, I suppose."  
  
"Ask your aunt?" Lourdes suggested.  
  
"I might....I just want to use that as a last resort."  
  
Kaela pursed her lips in thought for a long minute. "Hey Mels, did you ever figure out how your dad knows your aunt? They don't seem all that close."  
  
I stopped to think as I peeled my orange. "Not really. Just for as long as I can remember, Daddy told me to consider her an aunt. I know we aren't related but he said it was okay for me to call her so....and Ned my uncle. Mother doesn't like it--but then what does she like?" I snorted and tossed the orange peels into Aaron's paper bag, which we always used to collect our trash in.  
  
Aaron snorted. "What IS your mom cool with? I mean, what's her deal? No offense, but she's so bitter!"  
  
Everyone collectively rolled their eyes and Ian answered before I could. "Dad's always said that Carly has some sort of mental problem. I know they despise each other but I honestly think he's right. I've even see Sonny get irritated with her--like over the issue of you."  
  
"Carly doesn't like anyone--that's what my dad says," Kaela put in.  
  
"I honestly don't know, Aaron....I tend to agree with Uncle A.J. to be honest. I just ignore her when I can. Daddy approves of you and that's what matters to me."  
  
Kaela shook her head and brought the group back to the topic at hand. "So is it really bugging you....not knowing who that woman is?"  
  
"Yes and no....I admit trying to figure out who she is kept me up late last night." I held up my hands in surrender when Aaron gave me a scolding look. "But it's not so nagging that I can't concentrate in class."  
  
Lourdes rolled her eyes. "So why don't you do something about it? You're a smart girl. Do what my dad would do. Investigate."  
  
I nodded. The problem was where to start. But before I could voice this thought, the bell rang and we had to separate.  
  
"See you after school at the park," Lourdes called as we dashed off to our respective classes.  
  
**  
  
My afternoon classes seemed to drag out forever, but finally, they ended. Aaron and I waited for Lourdes and Kaela, then headed towards the middle school to retrieve the last member of our group. She was already waiting and came running to meet us.  
  
Like Lourdes, my friendship with Iliana Jacks ran a fine line between cautious and close. Daddy and Iliana's father Jax shared a deep-seated animosity--over a woman they had both wanted long before they'd met either of our mothers. For the sake of our friendship, they tolerated one another's presence during occasional run-ins--but that was as far as it went.  
  
We chatted about the day's activities on the way to the park, five minutes from the middle school. I didn't bring up the picture, intending to discuss it with Iliana when we were alone.  
  
"So have you told your mom about Aaron yet?" Iliana questioned.  
  
"No," we said in unison.  
  
"Are you kidding?" Kaela snorted as she spun past us on her skateboard. "Mrs. High and Mighty would have a literal hernia."  
  
"I'm surprised her dad hasn't," Lourdes said with a roll of her eyes.  
  
"Mr. Corinthos only had one stipulation--treat Melissa like a lady. He said as long as I did, he'd have no problem with us dating." Aaron shrugged, then smiled at me. "Which I have no problems with doing."  
  
Kaela returned to our sides, hopping off her board and catching it before it rolled away. "Be warned--the creepy couple is up ahead."  
  
Lourdes arched a brow. "So?"  
  
"So....they're creepy, that's what." Kaela wrinkled her nose. She fell silent as we passed by the pair. I studied them out of the corner of my eye as we passed by them.  
  
Rowenna was the daughter of Caleb Morley, who had been rumored for years to be a vampire, but no one knew for certain. And no one seemed to know anything about Marik MacDonald. He simply was wherever Rowenna was.  
  
"Freaks," Kaela grumbled to herself. Though they couldn't have possibly heard us, I saw Rowenna's blue eyes fasten on Kaela with a cold look. Kaela glowered back then tossed her head as we turned a corner into the park and out of their line of sight.  
  
After settling beneath our favorite tree in the middle of the park, the topic turned once more to the picture. Iliana insisted on knowing all the details so I reluctantly divulged them.  
  
"We could go to the library this weekend and look up town records," Iliana suggested. I nodded in agreement.  
  
"What time do you want to go?"  
  
"Whenever's good for you," Iliana shrugged. "Two o'clock?"  
  
"That should work out...."  
  
"Who IS that guy?" Kaela frowned. "He keeps staring at us."  
  
"Wha?" Lourdes muttered, squinting in the direction Kaela was pointing.  
  
I, too, followed Kaela's finger to notice a man who appeared to be in his late 20s. He was dressed in a navy blue sweater and jeans and, as far as I could tell, was sketching or writing on the pad in his lap.  
  
"Maybe he's drawing Lourdes," Iliana giggled.  
  
"Oh puh-lease, Illie girl," Lourdes moaned dramatically.  
  
"Well your aunt IS Deception's original star cover girl--and you're as pretty as she is," Iliana said sincerely.  
  
Lourdes opened one eye and smiled slightly. "Thanks, girl. Even if I don't believe it, I appreciate it."  
  
I saw the man look over at us again, an instant before Kaela yelled, "Get a camera, it lasts longer!!" He immediately got up and left with one final glance.  
  
"Freak," Kaela muttered. "I gotta get home. You guys be careful-- especially you, Mels. He could be working for someone who hates your dad." Everyone chorused their good-byes and hugged Kaela before she hopped up, grabbed her backpack and skateboard and took off.  
  
"Do you think Kaela's right?" It was Aaron that voiced the question.  
  
"Man I hate to say it, but if Kaela's way of thinking is the way, any one of us could be a target." Lourdes ticked off on her fingers. "We got Mels' dad with a thousand enemies behind every tree, we got nuts who'd probably snatch me to get at MY dad, we got Illie girl here whose parents are zillionaires and then some...." She paused and raised an eyebrow at Aaron. "I guess that means you're the only one safe. Lucky you." She winked and snickered.  
  
"Then I will insist on walking you home, Miss Taggert," Aaron bantered, playing along.  
  
"Why thank you, Master Kovich," Lourdes said mock haughtily. "But I believe the fair Princess Mels might have a problem with that."  
  
Aaron looked at me. I shrugged, trying my best to hold back my laughter. Iliana was in a fit of giggles. I finally shook my head.  
  
Aaron got to his feet and scooped up his backpack and Lourdes'. "I'll see you tomorrow," he promised me. We exchanged a hug and a brief kiss before he and Lourdes headed out. I then turned to Iliana. "Ready?"  
  
Iliana nodded, and we gathered up our things, heading in the opposite direction from Aaron and Lourdes, to catch a cab to the Jacks mansion.  
  
**  
  
Behind a small stand of trees, the man with the sketchpad continued to observe the group of teenagers as he watched Kaela Smith depart. He would have to be wary of her, especially considering her parent. He looked down at his notes, making sure he had everything correct, according to observations and research. To be safe, he fished the small hand-held recorder out of his coat pocket and recorded his notes to tape.  
  
"Day five--second time observing the subject's 'inner circle'. Film enclosed details the following....  
  
Kaela Renee Smith....images 10, 12 and 13, farthest left in group photos. Daughter of private investigator Zander Smith and artist Elizabeth Smith. Appears to be the most volatile and paranoid member of the group. Could present a problem.  
  
Aaron Kovich....images 9 and 17, also in images 18, 19 and 22 with the subject. Son of Rafe and Alison Barrington Kovich. Obviously subject's current boyfriend. He treats her well, from all appearances.  
  
Iliana Rae Jacks....images 11, 15, and 20, also in image 16 with the subject. Daughter of corporate tycoon Jasper Jacks and ELQ heir Skye Quartermaine-Jacks. Naïve, fragile-looking. Appears to idolize the subject. Approaching her would be almost too easy.  
  
Lourdes Taggert....images 14 and 21. Daughter of Police Chief Marcus Taggert and district attorney Dara Taggert. Currently an unknown factor. Falls in somewhere between the Smith girl and the subject in personality."  
  
He clicked the recorder off and departed from the park, satisfied that, for the day, his job was done. At least so far, there were no complications.  
  
(1) - lyrics from "Bells for Her" by Tori Amos  
  
TBC.... 


End file.
